August's Pictures

If you happend to be a king in Cyprus and you were also dead then this might be your next home, it's compact but has amazing views of the sea and excellent transport links, as for the neighbours, they're all dead quiet. OK no en-suite but you're dead so there's no need to wash where you're going, well not your physical body anyway. Yes, it's the Tomb of the Kings in Paphos, only an hour and a half from Ayia Napa, so if you still feel the need to party hearty then you can hit the clubs and still be back before anyone has noticed your absence. To add to your comfort, there is a KFC right nearby where you can pick up a Zinger Tower Stacker Nacho Flamer Chicken Burger meal for less than a donkey, plus they have free WiFi for the teenage king among you that owns a tablet.

Thes sorts of things seem to be dotted al over Cyprus, will not very much explanation and just a few signs off the main road. We got to this one off the main motorway a few miles outside the turn off for Ayia Napa. As we approached I noticed at the end of the road right before the left turn towards the church a sign saying no photography, I thought that atrange until we noticed that the signs were for the military base behind the signs and not the church that was also as unwelcoming behine a chain link fence. So in the interests of not getting shot, I took this hurried snap and we moved on rather quickly. So we bimbled on a little further to Cape Greko the furthest South East we could go to pass another military base and then on to something else the was also as protected with it's fence and warning signs which said it was the lighthouse, though I have yet to find another lighthouse that had a fence all around, contained what appeared to be a few large transmitters and no... erm... lighthouse. I suspect this lighthouse didn't contain a freindly salty sea dog that could share a few tales and who probably shared a likeness to Captain Birdseye, I suspct the lighthouse keeper might actually be a grumpy armed individual.

In my foolish hope to escape the sun of a day I decided a shopping trip was called for. After a quick scan of the guide book I found that in the top 10 shopping places in Cyprus, number 1 was a place called My Mal in Limassol. Under cover and more clothes shops than you can shake a stick at would just be the ticket for distracting the two ladies in my life. Of course it would be boring as hell for me, but this would be a way to hide from the never ending heat and the scorching sun. Little did I know that this distraction would only last a few hours and we would be back out again baking. Most malls all over the world are the same re-hash of the same things, most of them clothing stores or shoe shops. This one was slightly different in that it had an ice rink below ground, and that's where the interisting bit stops. Back to the clothes and shoes. We did however visit the only shop in there that was an electrical shop and with some excitement bought my Wife a tablet, she did ask for it, but insisted I paid. Not sure what I am letting myself in for here as I'm the tech support here so I may just be paying for an opportunity for more hassle.

I must admit there is one strange thing about driving around Cyprus, and that's every so often you look ikn the rear view mirror to find a UN pickup truck behind you. I overtook one at 10kmh above the speed limit, they don't have UN on the back and since there are so many pickups being driven I didn't immediately think it was a UN truck, but as I pulled aside there it was the UN sign. I am assuming they are above handing out speeding tickets.

Just off the site from the old monastry is the new church. Right in what appears to be the main square just off from the bars and the clubs where an icon of the Virgin Mary is said to have been dound in a cave by a hunte, well to be honest it was found by his dog who barked to alert the hunter who was aft a rabbit. i'm assuming the hunter wasn't called Elmer, though he didn't catch the rabbit so it's possible. At that point Ayia Napa was a dense woodland which is what Ayia Napa means I belive, it's a rough translation so don't start using it in regular Greek conversation.

That's about it for today, the beach was windy and there was a wedding taking place and some promo shots, the museum was average and cost a little less than the rubbish waterfall yesterday, not the one in the picture as that was free, the Green Valley one.

I think that the title is a good idea for a gameshow on TV, well a rather rubbish gameshow but a gameshow nonetheless' and it was a gameshow we played today. Not only did we fail the test and would not have gone on to play for next week's bonus prize but we also got caught out by the dummy waterfall.

Heading for Troodos we were attempting to strike the Caledonian Waterfall which should have been easy owing to the few roads that cross that area of Mount Olympus (where they make cameras). I was cincentrating on driving the 1.2 engine up the steep slopes and on occasion causin the inner tyre to make a joyfull squeel as I pumped in too much (if that could be possible) power round some of the really tight and really steep corners. As we got within 10k of Troodos there were signs for the Green Valley Waterfall Cafe. This was the decoy. We got out and paid our 13 Euros and decended the narrow man made path that looked as if I had made it. Yes it was that bad. Every so often you would find a badly hand painted sign telling you what trees were about and every so often there would be a small roost of chickens. Your prize of the 13 Euros and the decent was an average waterfall dropping into a brown pool of water, and a hut that would have sold snacks if someone had been there and if you'd have trusted the food. When I say hut, I mean it had a front and no back so really a facade of a hut. Not blunted by failure we crashed on in the usual style.

Next up a monastry that didn't allow tourists though they didn't spot us, and the top of Mount Olympus, a Military Base where you are not allowed. Still optomistic we traveled on and on until we were defeated, so back home. On the way we spied anotger waterfall do we were damned if we were coming all this way to fail. i have no idea what this is called so I cannot help you here but down the small tiny roads we went until we could go no more. Like explorers discovering a gem never seen by man we headed out on foot. It was a little tricky but OK so long as you had feet and then there it was. not the waterfall but a reasonably good waterfall. We had abviously not been the first because there was a bloke in the pool below the waterfall with his mate. It appeared that he was imploring his mate to take the picture as soon as he could as he was loosing sensation in his toes because it was so cold. needles to say we didn't touch the water but instead hung about and took some pictures and left passing the new explorers to be, all eating ice-creams.

I suspect if you are given the above choices then chose the second. Today on the way to Nicosia I asked my Wife what was there, the reply that came back was Stuff. So as you can imagine I wasn't emensely filled with hope at the start of the 45 minute drive. Even so, like so many times in my life when my brain tells me to just abandon ship (and quite correctly many of these times) I just plough on with the flawed plan regardless. One day I shall learn or perhaps die (not) trying. Anyway there isn't much to see. Well you can stmble acros the wall that separares the two halves and by accident nearly walk into a UN base nearby as my Wife nearly did and then there is this. At this point I would love to have a full explanation for you but no. All I know is that it was about something in 1973. What that something was I do not know. after all the Turkish invaded in 1974 and the British had left long before, however the left figure might be a British soldier, or it might not. And there you have it... Nicosia.

This is the third time I am writing this as Quick Office has crashed each time just near the end. So let's see if I can make it to crash 4.

Once you have seen one Roman remains then you have pretty much seen them all, however if I were to rank all the Roman remains in order the those at Dogga are by far the best. Despite that, if you cannot get to Dougga then these sre pretty decent. The Amphitheater is impressive as are the views over the cliff and the sight of a paraglider failing to paraglide is also a sight to behold. However I can only guarantee two of thouse should you olan to visit.
The weather is scorching, so much so they have been troubled by scub fires, you might be able to pick up the sight of scorched scrub in the background of thus picture.

Well it could be Lead but I doubt it and wouldn't it be brilliant if it were a real horse and I had stod there for ages trying to get the perfect span. Of course even for a static horse it wasn't that simple after a couple decided to stand next to the horse for 5 minutes as I waited for them to bugger off. That's how patient I was, committed to the Zamyatin cause.

It's a pic at Chatsworth which has seen fit to drop artwork all around the grounds. Must admit it's quite nice to stumble on one of these things, even if some of them are just completely weird like the sculpture of a couple of people that seem to have been made by a 3 year old missing heads and all sorts. In the summer house there is a fan from a jet engine which was impressive but I don't really think the picture I took did it justice.